Assignment Operators in C++

Assignment operators allow us to assign values to variables.

The most common assignment operator is the = operator. This operator is used to assign the value on the right to the variable on the left.

In addition to the basic assignment operator (=), there are compound assignment operators that combine an arithmetic operation with assignment, simplifying and optimizing the code.

The assignment operators in C++ include:

• = (Assignment): Assigns a value to a variable.
• += (Add and Assign): Adds the value to the variable and assigns the result to the variable.
• -= (Subtract and Assign): Subtracts the value from the variable and assigns the result to the variable.
• *= (Multiply and Assign): Multiplies the value of the variable and assigns the result to the variable.
• /= (Divide and Assign): Divides the value of the variable and assigns the result to the variable.
• %= (Modulo and Assign): Calculates the modulo of the variable’s value and assigns the result to the variable.

Do not confuse the assignment operator = with the equality comparator ==. :::

List of assignment operators

Assignment (=)

The basic assignment operator (=) is used to assign a value to a variable. For example:

int a = 5; // Assigns the value 5 to variable a

The assignment operator is also used to update the value of a variable. For example:

int a = 5; // Initial assignment
a = 10; // Value update

Add and Assign (+=)

The += operator adds a value to a variable and assigns the result to that variable. For example:

int a = 5;
a += 3; // a is now 8 (equivalent to a = a + 3)

Subtract and Assign (-=)

The -= operator subtracts a value from a variable and assigns the result to that variable. For example:

int a = 10;
a -= 3; // a is now 7 (equivalent to a = a - 3)

Multiply and Assign (*=)

The *= operator multiplies a variable by a value and assigns the result to that variable. For example:

int a = 4;
a *= 6; // a is now 24 (equivalent to a = a * 6)

Divide and Assign (/=)

The /= operator divides a variable by a value and assigns the result to that variable. For example:

int a = 20;
a /= 4; // a is now 5 (equivalent to a = a / 4)

Modulo and Assign (%=)

The %= operator calculates the modulo of a variable by a value and assigns the result to that variable. For example:

int a = 17;
a %= 5; // a is now 2 (equivalent to a = a % 5)

Operator Precedence

It is important to remember that assignment operators have a lower priority than most other operators in C++. Therefore, the expressions on the right side of the assignment operators are evaluated first.

For example:

int a = 5;
int b = 10;
a += b * 2; // a is now 25 (b * 2 is evaluated first, then a += 20)